.

You know the drill by now. Standard Marvel cardboard carton with it’s control art and viewing windows to the front. The side flaps display photos of the Minimates within. The rear of the box features bio boxes of the characters in the 2 pack and a large ensemble photo of the entire wave.

This is the second Black Panther that DST have produced, but the first was the all chewed up version packed with Zombie Iron Man. It’s been a long wait for a proper release of yet another popular B-lister. 

The mask is an all over head piece similar to that of the DCD Batman Minimates, though the ear pieces are definitely different as they present a larger surface area to the fore. Black Panther’s mask should be a fairly simple transition to Minimate form but in my opinion DST have dropped the ball. In the comics the suit is usually black with blue highlights to show muscle definition and to try to highlight facial expressions beneath the mask. Here, DST have opted for what appears to be an extremely dark grey base with black highlights. It’s not a successful mix, but in their defense I’m not sure that the blue/black combination would have looked all that good either. 

The real problem with the mask is the eyes. For a start they’re set too wide apart, they don’t match up with the face beneath either. Secondly they are misaligned, well they are on the Minimate I’m reviewing anyway. That’s a little bit rubbish! Remove the mask and you’ll find the rather regal looking visage of Prince (though he may be King by now) T’challa which can be completed by adding the included hairpiece. I personally think that this is one of the better attempts at capturing the likeness of an African character. Good strong features here. Nice to see.

Another problem with this Minimate is the cape. It looks lovely, there’s lots of nice detail on it, particularly the gold detailing around the throat. But it flares away from the back of the body and completely unbalances the figure, meaning that it has to lean forward in order to stand up straight. Again, that’s a bit rubbish. The rest of the ‘mate is, as already mentioned, a very dark grey with black prints on the chest and at the ankles to represent the Black Panther’s boots. These prints aren’t all that successful for the reasons mentioned earlier and all in all the figure is a bit of an interest vacuum.

Black Panther has no accessories.

In conclusion: This character deserved better and I hope DST revisit him at some point.

MMC Score – 4 out of 10

As the name suggests this version of Storm is how she appeared during the 1990’s. It’s also the costume she sported in the hugely successful X-Men cartoon from the early/mid 90’s, so although we have seen a few Storms already in the Marvel line this one is perhaps the most iconic. 

The first thing that comes to my attention with this ‘mate is the hair. It’s big. Something that’s more synonymous with the 80’s than the 90’s but nevertheless Storm went from sporting a Mohawk to a ludicrously luxuriant mane, and DST have had shedloads of fun with it. It is a great piece. There’s so much shape and texture to this piece, I especially like the way it tapers down at the back. Attached to the hairpiece are Storm’s ears and indeed her lightning bolt earrings. There’s a small piece of hair at the front that’s been sculpted to fall across the face, thankfully it doesn’t interfere with the features though I do find it slightly mars the overall look of the face. And what a great face, just for a change, on a female Minimate. The lines are light and fairly minimal. Storm’s eyes are whited out so she must be in her powered up state, which is fine but I’d really like to see a Storm Minimate which had blue eyes as well. Maybe even one with two faces on the head – now there’s a concept. What I think really works on this face is the make-up line that extends away from Storm’s eyes. I can’t recall seeing it on any other female Minimate which is a shame as it’s very effective here. 

Storm’s costume has been realized here in the same type of pearlescent plastic as the recent TRU exclusive (grumble…) Moonstone that Danny reviewed. It looks fine, in fact it really helps the ‘mate stand out. But I don’t think it’s right for this figure. I don’t recall seeing any other representation of this costume having that pearl effect. Still it does look good and I certainly wouldn’t mark it down for using this treatment. The cape is a clever piece of work. It sweeps over the shoulder and is helped to stay in place by being slightly under the head, but the front is open. It’s a shame the cape isn’t hinged in some way so as to give Storm the appearance of flight, but again, it doesn’t spoil the figure at all. The upper arms are a brand new sculpted piece designed to represent the puffed out sleeves at Storm’s shoulders. I’m not a huge fan of these pieces as I feel it give the character a very bulky appearance across the top of the shoulders, especially when combined with the shoulder pads of the cape. Decoration to the ‘mate itself is fairly minor. A print on the chest block with some nice two color work, and wrist bands. The wrist bands on the right appears to be a bit of a bad application which is a bit of a shame. 

90’s Storm is accessorized with two energy bolts that clip over her wrists. They don’t look at all bad but it would have been great to have had a full on energy blast as well. 

In conclusion: Looks great and should be welcome in any Marvel Minimate collection.

MMC Score – 8 out of 10

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

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